Kukla's Korner Hockey

Last weekend, Ryan Johansen told The Dispatch that the Blue Jackets’ offer of a bridge contract was a “slap in the face.” Let us think on this.

A bridge contract is a short-term deal designed to set up a lucrative, long-term deal down the road. Johansen is 21. He will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when he is 26. If he signs a two-year bridge contract, he can pump up his resume and use the specter of looming, unrestricted free agency as leverage in 2016.

A slap in the face is when someone opens his or her hand and uses said hand to swiftly smack the cheek of a surprised victim.

Now that negotiations between the Blue Jackets and their leading scorer, Ryan Johansen, have dragged into July, the 21-year-old center is free to negotiate with all 30 NHL teams.

That sounds terribly risky for the Blue Jackets, and nothing worries fans or agitates general managers more than the thought of a budding star — a player they drafted and developed — signing an offer sheet with another team as a restricted free agent. Johansen had 33 goals and 30 assists last season.

But here’s the reality: Offer sheets are rare, and they are rarely successful at poaching another team’s player.

Comments

offer sheets are rare and they rarely work, but whats the risk? You end up having to pay your RFA often much more than you would have to if u just pony up a bit more. Im sure if the sticking point is a million or two, an rfa would probably sign a offer sheet that is well above that figure that is the sticking point if it came to that.

I don’t think it was the bridge deal I thought it was that it would end and keep him RFA for his next long term cash in thwye talking about. Kids a stud and could command more as a ufa so they’re trying to leverage their next negotiations on the sly.

Offer sheets are rare, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t use the threat of one to increase your bargaining power. Some negotiations are about leverage. So to quote Mr. Arace, ‘let us think on this’...

In offering a bridge contract the Jacket’s are basically banking on Johanssen having no other options but to take what he’s offered - and that’s basically true, as Johanssen’s only leverage is either an offer sheet or a hold out. By going to the media in this way, he at least raises the spectre that one of those other options could be a possibility, which might make the Jacket’s management blink.

When you look at it this way, Johanssen is only trying to maximize what little leverage he has in the hopes that the Jacket’s will cave to his contract demands rather than face the prospect of opening the season without their top scorer, or being forced to match a competing team’s offer. It hardly sounds like he’s the one that doesn’t understand negotiations…